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Tite: Neymar primed for World Cup clash against Mexico

Brazil's Neymar, Willian and team mates during training at Samara Arena on Sunday
Reuters

Neymar has made a slow start to the tournament, showing glimpses of skill but drawing criticism for diving in an attempt to win a penalty against Costa Rica

Brazil coach Tite says Neymar is back to his best as the five-time champions take on Mexico here on Monday for a place in the World Cup quarter-finals.

Neymar has made a slow start to the tournament, showing glimpses of skill but drawing criticism for diving in an attempt to win a penalty against Costa Rica.

But the Paris Saint-Germain forward has steadily silenced his detractors, scoring Brazil's second goal in a laboured 2-0 win over Costa Rica before providing the corner for Thiago Silva's powerful header that capped a valuable 2-0 win over Serbia.

Meanwhile, Brazil defensive linchpin Thiago Silva said he hoped Neymar would follow in the footsteps of PSG team-mates Kylian Mbappe, Edinson Cavani and Angel Di Maria, who scored five goals between them in Saturday's last 16 games.

"Yesterday when the games finished I thought... maybe in our game it's going to be the same with Neymar," Silva said.